12.27.2004

Review #4: Roznovsky's Hamburgers - Houston, Texas

What with the weather in Houston being so nice and all today - I decided to pack up the wife and kiddos and head out on a TexasBurgerGuy burger run. We made our way to Roznovsky's Hamburgers. I have read a lot of good things about Roznovsky's and was looking forward to the visit. I am learning that everybody has different tastes and preferences. For example - I prefer a meaty, greasy, cheesy burger. Some people prefer the petite burger with lots of good vegetables. I am rating these burgers based off my tastes and preferences. That said - Roznovsky's burgers are not big and meaty. They are more the petite variety. The size combined with a few other issues led me feeling pretty unimpressed with Roznovsky's.

Roznovsky's Cheeseburger Review As soon as the Roznovsky's Cheeseburger was sat on my table - I knew I was in for a small burger experience. It had a nice little grease stain on the paper which made me smile and anticipate the meal I was about to consume. I was hoping to be in for a good burger experience... for the most part it was just OK. The whole burger together has good flavors - not great - just good. If you break down the burger and examine the meat, vegetables, and bun like I do - well I was disappointed. Here is how I see the Roznovsky's Cheeseburger ranking in the Texas Burger Guy categories:

Oooze Factor
As I already mentioned - the burger did make a grease stain on the paper it was wrapped in. The Roznovsky's Cheeseburger had a small amount of oooze, but not a whole lot. I have had some burgers that are so moist the oooze just goes all over. This burger was far from that. It was pretty light on oooze. The moisture that did come from the burger was mainly from the vegetables. They pile a ton of vegetables on their burgers.
Oooze Factor Rating: 5

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Herd Killer Perhaps the most disappointing discovery came when I flipped open the burger to check out the patty. What did I find? Well - it appears Roznovsky's is using a frozen patty which to me is pretty bad thing. A good mom and pop burger joint will use fresh ingredients - that is what separates it from the chain restaurants. While Roznovsky's definitely used good buns and vegetables, the main ingredient in the burger - that being the patty needs to be given special consideration. The patty seemed rubbery to me. It was also pretty small as well. Pretty low on herd killer.
Herd Killer Rating: 3

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Handling
The Roznovsky's Cheeseburger is not a 2 handed burger by any means. It is a one and a half handed if there is such a thing. It is probably a little too big to handle with one hand due to all the vegetables.
Handling Rating: 5
Bling Bling
The Roznovsky's Cheeseburger goes for $3.05 which considering the overall experience is a bit too high. If the patty was handmade and was a little bigger, it would be worth it. You end up paying a lot for vegetables and bread.
Bling Bling Rating: 3
Overall Roznovsky's Cheeseburger Rating: 5

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Restaurant Review Roznovsky's had a pretty good menu. They have chicken sandwiches, chili, buffalo wings, kid's meals, and beer on the menu. Mrs. TexasBurgerGuy tried out the Chicken Fried Chicken Strips and they were pretty stout. My daughter tried the grilled cheese (not on paper menu - but on the menu in the restaurant). We also tried the fries, seasoned fries and onion rings - all were pretty good - they weren't awesome - just good.

Roznovsky's Menu (Click to enlarge)Restaurant/Atmosphere The atmosphere inside Roznovsky's is really a site to see. I think this is what draws a lot of people to Roznovsky's. The owner of the restaurant, Ron Roznovsky was an All American baseball player for the University of Texas in 1973 so the place is decked out with UT stuff. Actually - there are lots and lots of pictures hanging on the wall of little league teams that I guess Roznovsky's sponsored. The restaurant is a mix of a mom and pop restaurant with a hint of sports bar feel to it. The lady behind the counter was extremely nice. I felt like I had been invited over to the Roznovsky's garage to eat a burger. Very cool when a restaurant can make you feel that way when you sit down. Part of the restaurant is smoking - part is not. No credit cards are accepted! Bring a check or cash. For me, the best part of Roznovsky's was the atmosphere inside the restaurant.

Directions Roznovsky's is easy to find. If you are heading down 34th street from 290, you will see the sign for Roznovsky's on your left once you reach TC Jester. Can't miss it.

TBG Overall Rating After reading a lot of positive things about Roznovsky's Burgers, I was pretty excited about trying it out. When we walked in the door and spoke with the lady behind the counter and looked around the interior of Roznovsky's, I got even more excited. The food was not all I had hoped it would be, but Roznovsky's is a great place to go to get way from the rubber stamped fast food junk at chain restaurants. Roznovsky's has a cozy atmosphere and friendly people - but it is all about the burger for me and Roznovsky's isn't all that it was hyped up to be.

11 Comments:

Glad you said it TexasBurgerGuy! I have had a lot of people tell me Roznovsky's is great, but in my opinion, in just ain't. The burgers are ok but I have had much better at other burger type places. Thanks for setting it straight!

Roz's is good but they used to be better when they had the old store on Birdsall near Memorial Park.

You need to drive east down 34th, hang a left on Shepherd and visit Miller's in the Garden Oaks Shopping Center. I don't know what they do over there, but the burgers are DE-LISH! A DBDC burger all the way will put a smile on your face all day. Their fries suck, but if you get them to fry them twice, they will gladly and then they are very good... If you go, DON'T get there after 11:25AM or wait until after 12:45. They are lined up out the door most days...

HI Mr Roznovsky,I was just flipping through some pages and came across this site. I was amazed to get to know another Roznovsky - my name is Roznovsky, too. But I am living in Austria (Europe). I would really fancy getting in touch with you!Kind regards,Christian Roznovsky

I saw your review and was confusing it with Novrozsky's in Beaumont and now spreading into East Texas. They are the best burger in that part of the country, though a little pricey. I like their choice of buffalo and emu. Emu is not so good. Buffalo with fat free cheese is wonderful, especially for us fatsos who need to watch it.

I was telling a friend who'd just moved to The Heights that she needed to try a Roznovsky burger. Lo and behold, it's not at Feagan anymore? So, I haven't had a burger at the new place, but the old one was pretty cool. Seems to me they had a pretty good ooze factor. They also had the cheapest longnecks around.

TBG if you want a real hamburger go to the little bitty burger barn on pine mont not far from here fresh burgers fresh cut ffs one of the best burgers I have had, not to mention the sliders, mmmmmmmm hit em up!

I like Roznovsky's for the pre-made patty, greasy style of burgers--I ate there last night, in fact. Much better and quicker than Mytiburger on 43rd. Comparing Roz's to Miller's or LBB Barn isn't appropriate, as they're going for two entirely different things, Miller's and LBB are going the "gourmet" burger routema nd Roz's is doing the frozen-patty, quick-and-dirty route. Both are honored traditions in burgers.

I gotta say, though, that the owner of LBB Barn is such an obnoxious drunk (ran into him at the bar across the parking lot one night) that I was turned off ever going back to his place. I love Miller's, though.

I was at Roznovsky's not to long ago and the DO take Credit Cards, and have added several things to thier menu. Such as Sweet Potato Fries, Fried Cat Fish, Shrip Po-Boys and baskest to name a few. Also I asked and their patties are NOT frozen they are fresh! The sweet lady behind the counter is the owner, Ron's wife, I asked her about the patties.

My boyfriend and i went to eat there because it had been there so long and are well known.but i was so disappointed.too pricey for a burger the size of mickey d's.their fries were the size of the fries from the kids meals at mcDonalds too.we will never go back!

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